The holidays are such a busy time for everyone and anything that can make life easier is certainly welcome this time of year! Entertaining is almost effortless when you know how to make a beautiful and tasty cheese board. It only takes a trip to the grocery store and a few minutes to put together an assortment of cheeses, meats and accompaniments that will totally impress your guests and leave you with time to spare.

Here are my tips and tricks on making a fabulous cheese board for any occasion and any size crowd.

Something old, something new, something soft, and something blue…meaning an aged cheese, a soft cheese, a fresh semi-hard cheese and a blue cheese. With that somewhat appropriate adage in mind, you can’t go wrong when it comes to building a cheese board that will impress even your most serious foodie friends.

Here’s what you’ll need to make a killer cheese board…

Choose as many as 5 kinds of cheese and arrange them artfully on your board.

Add an assortment of crackers such as bread sticks, crostini, multigrain crackers, water crackers, parmesan crisps, etc. French bread slices are also a delicious option.

Include seasonal fresh fruits - tangerines, grapes, pomegranate seeds, apples and pears are perfect for fall.

Dried fruits such as apricots, fig and dates are also a great addition.

Add nuts - pistachios, walnuts, roasted and salted pecans (a Southern favorite) and almonds.

The accompaniments are important and add interest and a pop of color to your board. Sweet and spicy spreads are delicious with cheeses and guests can mix and match according to their tastes. I love hot pepper jelly, honey, and tapenade and a bowl of olives.

I love to include a selection of cured meats such as prosciutto and salami.

Garnish with fresh herbs and you have a beautiful presentation that has something for everyone!

The perfect board and table scape naturally needs the perfect serving essentials to tie it all together. Here’s what you need to make this a meal!

A large statement serving board to display your beautiful creation!

Knives for cutting cheese and spreading (Williams Sonoma has a huge selection, and these are favorites) - it’s important to have a knife for each kind of cheese and the appropriate spreader for the condiments (honey, jellies etc.). I like to find unusual spoons and knives at vintage stores or on Etsy, to give my boards a unique look.

Fun cocktail plates (love these from Magnolia Home at Target) and cocktail napkins.

I love the idea of giving an assortment of cheeses as a gift. This box includes three different and handcrafted cow;s milk cheeses from different regions of the United States, as well as honey, dried fruit and nuts. Anyone on your list would love to see this arrive at their door!

This is one of several posts I’ve written about making a cheese board because it’s one of my favorite ways to entertain. To learn more about specific kinds of cheeses (and watch my video on YouTube), check out this post and this post.

If you’re looking for even more ideas on how to style your cheese board, be sure to check out my Pinterest board for lots of inspiration like the picture below! 

Thanks so much for reading today! Happy Monday!